Manhattan Club Lawsuit

Not responding to Discovery is how Eichner has been able to avoid prosecution all these years. In case after case Eichner and his legal team did not respond. How can you win a case of fraud without strong evidence? Eichner could not do play those legal games with the New York Attorney General who has broad legal powers under the Martin Act. Now all that tax payer funded investigative results cannot be used in any Court against Eichner and The Manhattan Club per the sweet heart deal with the former NYAG Schneiderman. We have to write to the new NYAG James.

Here is the letter I am sending to New York Attorney General James:

November 4, 2020

Attorney General Leticia James Office of the Attorney General The Capitol. Albany, NY12224-0341

Dear Attorney General James,

The Office of the New York Attorney General is being used to perpetuate a fraud. I am referencing a scheme defrauding 5,000 New Yorkers and 18,000 consumers in total.

In 2014, after hundreds of complaint letters, NYAG Schneiderman began an investigation of the Manhattan Club Timeshare operation. After a 3 year investigation in which the NYAG obtained audio, video, bank records, reservation records and depositions documenting systemic fraud by Ian Bruce Eichner and the Manhattan Club the NYAG’s investigation ended with an Assurance of Discontinuance in 2017. Here is a link to the agreement: https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/manhattan-club-aod_0.pdf

NYAG Attorney General’s Schneiderman’s agreement gave Eichner and The Manhattan Club a free pass to avoid any further prosecution by 5,000 New Yorkers and the 18,000 people in total they defrauded. In the Assurance of Discontinuance Eichner and the Manhattan Club admitted they ran a timeshare scam and defrauded consumers. But, for payment of a $6 million dollar fine, the price of one year of Eichner’s no employees, no services provided management contract at the Manhattan Club, Eichner has been able to avoid all litigation from the consumers he defrauded. While the NYAG Attorney General Schneiderman’s agreement says “ on page 17 Section 74,"The respondents, Eichner, shall not take any action or make any statement denying, directly or indirectly, the propriety of this Assurance or expressing the view that this Assurance is without factual basis.

It also says," Nothing in this paragraph affects the Respondents (i) testimonial obligations or (ii) right to take legal or factual positions contrary to the terms of this document in defense of litigation or other legal proceedings, to which the OAG (Office of the Attorney General) is not a party. This Assurance may not be used by any third party in any other legal proceeding and is not intended, and shall not be construed, as an admission of liability by the Respondents in any other proceeding."

In other words Eichner and TMC can deny in any Court they were guilty of running a timeshare scam with the expressed blessing of the New York Attorney General's Office. Despite the NYAG having investigated and finding extensive evidence of Eichner's fraudulent Manhattan Club timeshare operation Eichner is given a full pass for committing fraud from the New York Attorney General, 'the people's lawyer.’

As a defrauded consumer, I look forward to Attorney General James rectifying this gross miscarriage of justice.

Attorney General’s Schneiderman’s AOD with the Manhattan Club was not a slap on the wrist for Ian Bruce Eichner. Attorney General’s Schneiderman’s AOD with the Manhattan Club was a kiss on the hand.

Thank You guys for all you are doing to make a difference.

Excellent letter! We should all take talking points from it and send our own as well. Do we think if we got media attention about this it would help move it along?

Outstanding letter!! It’s amazing how much corruption this organization has done to swindle so much money out of hard working people. Time shares are now a scam in my eyes and I own 2 of them!!Wish I could go back in time and undue both of them!

I believe after all this time, that no one, including the lawyers who want to represent us, have not had any owner contact the media. With wide spread knowledge of the fraud that happened, admitted in court, and still allowed to continue with the blessings of the Attorney General's office, and still we are not able to get the attention of the media. Why are our public officials not taking responsibility for what the law has stated? Why has this case not been pursued? Is politics involved, or is there other reasons that we have not been told? A business continues to operate, under false pretense, and the law has not protected it's citizens by making the parties abide by the courts rulings? Writing letters to the attorney general's office, is a start, but there is everyday news articles published about this type of fraud, and maybe the individuals in government will be reminded that their responsibility is to the public, and not select individuals. If enough owners would blitz the media, maybe we could get some response. It is worth a try. Regards, Hank

Sadly, the timeshare industry is rife with fraud and other bad behavior. It is perplexing that this industry is allowed to exist, in a bubble, with little to no intervention or oversight from government entities. TMC investigation and "resolution" and noncompliance, in the grand scheme of things, is probably of little interest to NYC and State which faces many other all encompassing issues, esp now. The media is no exception. They have bigger fish to fry. It seems justice is not served, more often than not. It's about power, money and those who have the best lawyers and who know how to play the game to their advantage.

Sending letters to AG to ask for redress is one path. However,we should remember that the AG has an existing("Assurance of Discontinuance") agreement with TMC ,which terms are to supposed be followed. #1 on this I thought ,was existing ownership/management had to divest this year(2020).As Bluegreen deal has seemed to have collapsed,it seems this provision is not being complied with,and AG should step in and enforce.From recent correspondence with the AG,I'm told a "complaint"form on their website is the proper way to report such issues of noncompliance with such agreements(or breach of the law in general);they said to be as specific as possible. If I am correct,if enough come forward ,perhaps AG will be more active/helpful. Getting new ownership/management would at least create hope for better future,and redress for past can still be pursued

Eichner is still in control of TMC. Urban still exists and gets $7 million, but I’m not sure who the owner of Urban is at present. Sal Reale told me Eichner appointed two people to the board when Blue Green pulled out. In addition Reale and Wirshba are also board members. This info came from a phone call from Sal in response to an email I had sent to Dunphy, one of our elected board members. This seems to me to be totally WRONG. Eichner was supposed to be completely out of management and control per the AOG. I will write the new NY AG including Irene’s info plus what I have included in this post. Blue Green still owns a bunch of units; they had owned a bunch for years and then I presume they bought the units owned by Eichner. Dru

The real issue in any Court Case against Ian Bruce Eichner and The Manhattan Club is they do not answer Discovery questions. I guarantee they will not answer any Discovery in the lawsuit Zimmerman has filed and will deflect answering. Eichner's lawyers have stock phases they use in response to requests for Discovery " the answers are proprietary, irrelevant, information subject to attorney client privilege, work product privilege, overly broad, documents not material and necessary to the prosecution or defense of this action." I could go on with the boiler plate answers. Eichner and is attorney's will say and do anything not to answer Discovery. They could not do that with AG. But they even gave the NYAG a hard time. Read the court filings. The Manhattan Club and Eichner delayed, delayed and delayed Discovery but they could not stop the NYAG. That is why writing to the New York attorney General James is so important. The NYAG has all the evidence needed to win in court against Eichner and The Manhattan Club. Our tax dollars paid for the NYAG's investigation only to have the investigation benefit Eichner and The Manhattan Club

Irene, thank you so very much for what you have been doing for us. My question is: do letters to the NYAG from out of state owners carry any weight?

Letters from out of State Manhattan Club owners cannot hurt. The more letters NYAG James gets the more likely the Eichner issue will get off her slush pile.

I urge every Manhattan Club Owner to write.

Attorney General Leticia James Office of the Attorney General The Capitol Albany, NY12224-0341

Hello everyone,

We’re a family from Costa Rica and we’ve owned 3 weeks in the Manhattan Club for more than 10 years. We received a few days ago three letters from the State of New York Office of the Attorney General which stated:

Dear XXX,

In accordance with the Assurance of Discontinuance dated August 14, 2017, the New York Office of the Attorney General is pleased to enclose your share of the second payment from the settlement with The Manhattan Club and its Principals. This amount reflects payment for your pro rata share of all maintenance payment made in 2018.

Very truly yours, Louis M. Salomon Chief of Enforcement Real Estate Finance Bureau

Additional to each letter were enclosed checks for $173.21 each from the Better Business Bureau of NY.

The letters and checks were drafted on January 17, 2020 and they were sent by snail mail to Costa Rica, so obviously took like 9 months to get here and the checks are now void. Not only did they pay us petty change for the financial fraud that we have all been subject to, but they even found a way to not even pay that laughable amount. They are crooks!

Did anyone else receive such a letter? We paid each year over $9.000 in maintenance fees up until this year and we typically used our weeks, but obviously with the pandemic this year we are not going. When we contacted them to verify if there was any assistance with the maintenance fees given the border closures, lockdowns, and the pandemic, they offered nothing. Therefore, we won’t be paying them anymore, as renting for a month via Airbnb or staying at a 4 star hotel is cheaper for us. We love visiting NYC. We also contacted the attorney Mr. Zimmerman in charge of the lawsuit and they asked for a fee of $3000 for representation, which is reasonable. Nonetheless, given what we have read here in the forum about the deal that the former AG agreed with Eichner we have no trust or hope in the US justice system and prefer to waive our investment. We could care less if they foreclose us or affect our credit rating in the US...those crooks ain’t getting a single penny from us! We just wanted to share this information that we received if it helps you folks from the US that may get affected by a foreclosure and a downgrade of your credit score. God bless and hope that you are all safe and well during these tough times!

Thank you for your honest response!! I believe every time share owner feels the same way!

L. Alvaro, thanks for sharing your story? It makes me feel better about giving my timeshare back even for $100 and be done with this albatross. Since I have been on board this travesty from the beginning, I will still write the AG. Wow, Zimmerman's rate was $2,000 a couple of weeks ago. And $1200 for a while before that. He did say he would likely be asking for more money as things progressed.

$6,000 is what the Manhattan Club and Eichner offered me to settle my case because I was fighting them in Court. I am still fighting. If you do not fight you will get $100 after a 9 month or longer wait.

Irene Smalls

Irene. Some of us are happy with $100 and to be legally rid of our timeshares. I didn't choose to buy 2 timeshares, I became saddled with them financially and otherwise through inheritance. I have fought for over 5 years. I don't want/can’t afford them any longer. I would rather put my energies elsewhere instead of continuing to fight. I however, respect and support those of you whose decision it is to keep fighting and wish you success and all the best.

I wish I knew how to fight them in court that’s the reason why I am part of the Zimmerman group!

A former Manhattan Timeshare salesman testified on camera about TMC's fraudulent sale practices. His testimony is powerful and it is separate from the NYAG's documents. So, TMC cannot bring up the Assurance of Discontinuance on why the video cannot be used. I obtained the video for my trial. Here are the details: 11/20/14 CNBC's 'Power Lunch' aired a Manhattan Club Episode with Andrea Day Reporter. In the episode several Manhattan Club Timeshare Owners were interviewed along with the salesman. I know for a fact the salesman was also interviewed by the New York Attorney General in the 3 year NYAG's investigation of TMC. I am happy to share the video with anyone who is pursuing a legal case against Eichner and The Manhattan Club. A copy of the video is in the Civil Clerk's office at 111 Centre Street referenced to my case. It is important that you notify Eichner's lawyers that you plan to use the video. In my trial they claimed I did not notify them of the video in their Discovery questions to me. Eichner's lawyers never asked me for any Discovery.

So - can someone from our litigation group make sure Attorney Zimmerman is made aware of the video referenced by Irene? She has been tenacious and what a fighter for our cause. Thank you again, Irene.